A SENIOR police officer has defended the response to problems posed by drunken Celtic fans at the recent match with Brentford.

Sally Benatar, chief inspector of operations for Hounslow Police, said no-one was in any danger despite a mass pitch invasion at the final whistle in which officers were seen to stand by and do nothing.

This comes despite bag searches failing to reveal several smoke bombs which were set off during the game and the possibility of other weapons being missed as well.

She said: "At the end of the match approximately 400 Celtic supporters entered the playing area. At no time were players, officials or club staff placed at risk. The number of supporters moving forward does not allow stewards and police to forcibly return supporters to the stands in a safe way. On Saturday, the co-ordinated response was to ensure the two sets of supporters were kept apart and then encouraged to return to their stands safely."

She added CCTV will be used by the club and police to identify invaders.

One of the most distateful of allegations circulating post match was a number of Brentford supporters who contacted the Chronicle to claim they witnessed Celtic fans singing songs glorifying the IRA and the recent death of soldier Lee Rigby who was attacked outside barracks in Woolwich back in May.

One man claimed to have been 'sickened' by the songs his family had heard and said it was wrong for anyone to 'get away with it'.

These were given greater depth when people claiming to be Celtic fans wrote messages on Brentford forums saying they too had witnessed the incidents and were ashamed of their fellow supporters’ behaviour.

The Chronicle asked the police whether any complaints had been made regarding these allegations and if an investigation was taking place.

A spokesman confirmed no allegations of any offensive songs or chanting had been received and added if anyone knew of any specific incidents they should report them to police immediately.